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Children are very good at not telling us how they feel, which often means that symptoms of myopia can be missed. However, here are a few common signs to look out for in your child, which may indicate short-sightedness. These include:
Myopia management for children
Protect your child's vision with effective myopia management solutions that slow down short-sightedness progression and reduce future eye health risks.
What is myopia?
Myopia, or as it’s more commonly known, short-sightedness, is a very common eye condition that affects around 1 in 3 people in the UK.
Myopia is a condition where viewing distant objects may be blurred, while closer viewing remains clear. This is because when light rays enter the eye, rather than focusing on the retina, they focus in front of it - resulting in a blurry image. Myopia can affect day-to-day activities such as watching the TV, taking part in sports and looking at a classroom whiteboard.
Myopia in children
Myopia often begins to develop in childhood, typically between the ages of 6 and 13 years old. The degree of myopia can worsen until the child's eye stops growing, which is normally in their early 20s.
Early detection through regular eye exams and implementing appropriate myopia control strategies are important for protecting children's eye health. We provide NHS eye tests for children. No age is too young for a children's eye test - we will tailor it to their needs.
How do I know if my child has myopia?
If you notice any of these signs, it's essential to schedule an eye exam with an optometrist to determine if your child has myopia and discuss appropriate management options.
What is myopia management for children?
Myopia management refers to various treatments and strategies aimed at slowing down the progression of short-sightedness in children - not just a pair of glasses or contact lenses to help you see whilst you use them. Historically, myopia progression could not be controlled through standard prescription lenses. However, with recent technological advancements, innovative options have emerged to influence the development of myopia, minimising its overall impact.
The earlier you start managing a young person's myopia, the better the results. By controlling myopia progression, these methods can help reduce the risk of developing more severe vision problems later in life, such as retinal detachment, cataracts, myopic macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Myopia management methods for children
There are several effective methods for managing myopia (near-sightedness) progression in children. At our practices, we offer several effective myopia management solutions tailored to your child's needs:
Glasses for myopia control
Specialised spectacle lenses have been developed to slow down the progression of myopia in children. Some examples of myopia control glasses include:
- Hoya MiYOSMART lenses with defocus incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) technology.
- Essilor Stellest lenses with highly aspherical lenslet target optics.
- SightGlass Vision DOT lenses with microscopic defocus lenslets. These specialised lenses are recommended for children between the ages of 6 to 16 years who are experiencing progressive myopia. They need to be worn full-time to achieve the best myopia control effect.
Contact lenses for myopia control
Similar to specialised glasses, certain contact lens designs can also slow myopia progression in children and adolescents. The two main types are:
- Multifocal soft contact lenses with concentric rings of different powers to create peripheral defocus on the retina.
- Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) rigid gas permeable lenses worn overnight to temporarily reshape the cornea and create peripheral defocus. Children can wear contact lenses at almost any age, as long as they can confidently and safely handle inserting, removing, and caring for the lenses.
Other methods
In addition to optical interventions like specialised glasses and contact lenses, there are other methods that can be part of a comprehensive myopia management strategy for children:
- Increasing time spent outdoors (at least 2 hours per day) has been shown to reduce the risk of myopia setting in early in life and slow its progression. It may also slow down the worsening of myopia if coupled with frequent breaks in periods of near vision activity.
- Using computer screens safely - taking frequent breaks from the screen, proper lighting, maintaining good working distances - may help to reduce their risk of becoming short-sighted.
Why are eye tests important?
Eye tests are important for several reasons, and not just for your sight! Your eyes can be the window into the health of your body. Regular eye tests can help:
- Your vision, showing whether any correction is needed.
- Detect early signs of sight-threatening conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, particularly through our Ultimate Eye Examination.
- Detect signs of other possible health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and vascular disease.
It is also important to have regular eye tests, at intervals as recommended by your optometrist. This helps us to detect any changes in your vision or the health of your eyes as soon as possible. Of course, the sooner any changes are identified, the sooner we can help you manage them.
